Posted on 01/31/2011 5:22:51 AM PST by Servant of the Cross
The turmoil in Egypt is markedly similar to the revolution that gripped Iran 33 years ago. Egypt may be to Mr. Obama what Iran was to Mr. Carter.
President Carter’s emphasis on human rights in foreign policy set the stage for the 1979 revolt in Iran. Like Mr. Obama, Mr. Carter adopted a tone of moral superiority to the policies that had preceded him. When small-scale demonstrations began to break out in Iran in the fall of 1977, the State Department simply chastised the Shah’s government, which had been a firm U.S. ally, to get ahead of reform or get out of the way. This emboldened the oppositionists, a mix of liberal reformers and radical followers of the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, who kept up the pressure.
A year later, the situation had deteriorated to the point where the Shah’s regime was hanging by a thread. Crowds were in the streets, the security forces were crumbling, and the Ayatollah Khomeini’s influence was growing. Mr. Carter abandoned human-rights posturing and informed the Shah that he should do what he needed to keep order. By then, it was too late. The Shah fled in January 1979, (snip)
... Wikileaks show that the Obama administration has vigorously pushed Cairo to implement democratic reforms. Hosni Mubarak’s government pushed back, arguing reform had to be slow to be effective. Other Wikileaks documents expose concerns about the influence of the radical Muslim Brotherhood and Tehran’s attempts to dominate the region and meddle in Egyptian internal affairs. In one particularly revealing cable from July 2009, Egyptian intelligence chief and newly appointed Vice President Omar Soliman told then-Central Command commander Gen. David Petraeus, “’we hope Iran will stop supporting Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and other cells’ within Egypt … ‘but if not we are ready.’”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Thanks for the post.
“When the time calls for action, Mr. Obama sits on his hands.”
Seriously, is ANYONE really surprised.
Voting ‘Present’ is NO WAY to deal with an unraveling Middle East.
2012 is a long time coming.
Obozo is the “enemy within”. This is another intentional act to destroy.
Clear and Present Danger to the Nation and our Allies.
If he were a citizen he would be guilty of Treason. He has yet to submit proof of his citizenship. Yes, not even proof he is a citizen much less a “natural born U.S. Citizen”.
Now here’s a presidential comparison I can believe - not like the Reagan one.
Yep. Good post.
Word in DC is that the US military and the Egyptian military have very good relations. Is Mr. Obama trying to find out what’s going on by doing some back channel talking to the armed forces in Egypt?
Just because we are seeing lots of noise in the Cairo streets doesn’t mean that’s the story.
Thoughts?
Lose a somewhat friendly country to Muslim extremists AND give away a canal at the same time.
From the article:OK. First, this was over 30 years ago, so my memory might not be 100% reliable.
When small-scale demonstrations began to break out in Iran in the fall of 1977, the State Department simply chastised the Shah’s government, which had been a firm U.S. ally, to get ahead of reform or get out of the way. This emboldened the oppositionists, a mix of liberal reformers and radical followers of the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, who kept up the pressure.
However, I don't remember the events in Iran the way this article describes it.
My recollection is that Carter and his administration backed the Shah pretty much absolutely and unconditionally all the way to the end. This led to the situation where the protesters/revolutionaries were burning the American flag in the streets of Iran, along with effigies of the Shah. The Shah was seen as a puppet of the United States (and a puppet of Carter).
Are there any reliable online news archives from that time where facts can be checked? I don't expect journalists to actually check facts, but perhaps FReepers could verify things like this before posting.
Barruh is channeling Jimmuh?
??
So ... before you would post an article on FR, opinion or otherwise, from the Washington Times, you would 'factcheck' it first? Seriously?
Major General Hoyt (Sandy) Vandenburg, Jr., USAF, retired as a two-star rather than four stars because he told it like it was as the Chief of the Military Training Mission in Iran when that country was coming apart. He wrote a message through military channels questions what the U.S. was doing (or not doing) and state department found out about. The USAF wanted to be the first Service to have father and son Chiefs of Staff but it wasn’t to be Vandenburg…that had to wait until General Mike Ryan, son of General Jack Ryan, accomplshed the feat decades later.
Here is a discussion of the "Carter Doctrine":
Avoiding the Burden, the Carter Doctrine in perspective
As it relates to the Shah, it would suggest that Carter vacillated between advising the Shah to tough it out, and dumping him outright.
Both are incompetent leaders so no surprise seeing similar results.
There is a physical resemblance there between the 2 as well. Did Jimmah have an illegitimate child down on the peanut farm that we were not aware of?
So ... before you would post an article on FR, opinion or otherwise, from the Washington Times, you would ‘factcheck’ it first? Seriously?
That’s WHY FR exists, to comment, debunk, elaborate on postings, etc.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.